Nonsense syllable speech materials are often used when investigating speech perception in quiet and
under adverse conditions. The main advantage of using nonsense syllables over words and sentences
is that the acoustic as well as the linguistic context is minimal. This paper presents three anechoic
recordings of 13 male and 13 female native talkers of Danish each speaking 65 nonsense syllables
repeated three times with the neutral intonation contour for Danish (in total 15210 syllables). The
authors compared and ranked groups of three recordings. These three recording had the same talker
and had identical phonetic content. The syllables were ranked according to the general “appropriateness”
and consistency, i.e., prototypical production of the consonant-vowel (CV) with respect to
applicability in speech perceptual studies. The results were compared to results of an automatic
method based on acoustic measures. The two novel ideas are 1) to devise an automated method for
evaluating “appropriateness” of CVs and 2) to develop a Danish CV-material annotated with an objective
measure of “appropriateness” for each recorded CV. The latter would potentially render more
CV’s appropriate for perceptual studies. Moreover, objective evaluation would make it possible to
examine any perceptual effects of variability in CV production (for example how susceptible different
renderings by the same talker of CV’s are to background noise). To the knowledge of the authors, no
such material has yet been published for any language.

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In a recent article in European Management Review, Pitelis and Teece (2009) argue that extant explanations of the nature and scope of firms, such as transaction costs, property rights, metering team production, and resource-based, can be integrated into a more general (capability-based) theory of the firm. Despite acknowledging their account offers new insights on the issue, I am critical of their claim that the (dynamic) capability-based perspective can integrate the existing theories, which they in fact have failed to substantiate for three reasons. Firstly, they downplay the role of opportunism and simply categorize it as a kind of market failure, which they suspect its explanatory power. Secondly, their account is entrepreneur-centric, ignoring the role of employees in the formation of the firm, a problem they see in the transaction cost theory but nevertheless fail to address themselves. Thirdly, their critique of the market-failure-based explanation is problematic. I briefly introduce my own relationship-based theory as an alternative integration of the existing theories.

One of the aims of the Eye-to-IT project (FP6 IST 517590) is to integrate
keyboard logging and eye-tracking data to study and anticipate the behaviour
of human translators. This so-called User-Activity Data (UAD) would
make it possible to empirically ground cognitive models and to validate hypotheses
of human processing concepts in the data. In order to thoroughly ground a
cognitive model of the user in empirical observation, two conditions must be met
as a minimum. All UAD data must be fully synchronised so that data relate to
a common construct. Secondly, data must be represented in a queryable form so
that large volumes of data can be analysed electronically.
Two programs have evolved in the Eye-to-IT project: TRANSLOG is designed
to register and replay keyboard logging data, while GWM is a tool to record and
replay eye-movement data. This paper reports on an attempt to synchronise and
integrate the representations of both software components so that sequences of
keyboard and eye-movement data can be retrieved and their interaction studied.
The outcome of this effort would be the possibility to correlate eye- and keyboard
activities of translators (the user model) with properties of the source and target
texts and thus to uncover dependencies in the UAD.

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In this thesis I address the question of how value is created in second-hand
markets. Focusing on the role of charity thrift stores I present an ethnographic
account of fieldwork I undertook in the Tavern Guild Community Thrift Store in
San Francisco. I analyse my ethnographic findings in light of contemporary
literature on values and valuations in material culture and reaching back through
the anthropological literature on commodities and gift economies I build a
framework around David Graeber’s formulation of a concept of social, relational
value. In order to structure the analysis I take Mary Douglas’s seminal work on
classification as a starting point and argue that the practices of valuation constitute
a process of transformation form discard to commodity. To support the analysis I
introduce theoretical concepts from the ethnographic literature on values, secondhand
markets and valuations. Practices of categorization enable the employees to
create value, but disorder is a condition of the process, which hinders the flow as
well as provides opportunity for value. I describe thrift, a considered use of
resources, as the main ‘infravalue’ that drives the valuations and allows the
organization to create economic, social and emotional value. Next I zoom in on
the interaction between people and objects on a micro-level. The theoretical
framework here brings anthropological theory into play with actor-network theory
(ANT) approaches to nonhuman actors, and I introduce the term withdrawal from
object-oriented philosophy to address the agency of objects in valuations. By dividing the analysis into two parts I demonstrate in greater detail how objects as
part of valuations are given agency through social entanglements, but also how the
objects by their mere existence influence valuations beyond this entanglement.
Their presence as more than the sum of their social relations has a profound
impact on the valuations by resisting as much as partaking in the process of
transformation. In the last section of the thesis I present an explorative study of the
extended trajectory the objects take through markets and wholesale companies in
Thailand. I discuss the role of the thrift store in the global context of second-hand
exchanges and offer a critical reflection on the consequences of the proliferation
of second-hand markets. The thesis provides a situated approach to the study of
human-objects interactions and demonstrates that an understanding of the different
forms of value that are at play reveal charity thrift organizations as important
players in second-hand markets. Thrift enables the organization to salvage as
many objects as possible while providing services to the community. In doing so
they are vital in transforming discards into commodities for the other actors in the
market. This study highlights the importance of considering materiality, and
especially objecthood, in the context of second-hand markets, and suggests a
situated framework for understanding the relationship between objects and
practices in the broader context of material culture studies.

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A firm level perspecitve on internal learning and organisational behaviour

Granerud, Lise(København, 2003)

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The auto-components industry has improved its performance significantly in South Africa during the second half of the 1990’s. However, it has not yet reached the level of the international competitors. The present paper suggests that a focus on the firms’ internal conditions is a way to identify obstacles preventing further improvement of performance and competitiveness. Organisational behaviour has increasingly become important internationally in the understanding of firm development and learning in the recent years. This paper argues that it is crucial to take into account the behaviour of the organisation in the perception of the problems connected to the development of technology and capabilities in South African SMEs. The paper builds on the immediate findings of a qualitative case study on technological learning in two auto-components enterprises in Greater Durban, where the organisational behaviour in different ways hinders internal learning. These findings are contrasted with a third firm within the metal sector, which has a very different learning environment. The paper emphasises the importance of including the informal organisational behaviour in the understanding of how to develop the technological resources. The study investigates the physical resources, and the human and organisational resources, and relates these to the routines in the organisational behaviour, including formal and informal work practices and social relations at the shop floor in the understanding of what influence technological learning in these firms.

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The analysis in this paper concerns how national institutions impact the implementation of occupational healthy and safety management systems (OHSMS) in different types of market economies. The main objective is to show how variation in national institutional frameworks influences the implementation of OHSMS, and thus, relative performance. There are two main conclusions. First, dominating organisational templates and co-operative industrial relations structures allow firms from coordinated market economies (CME) to more effectively implement OHSMS than those from liberal market economies (LME) which are embedded in adversarial industrial relations. Secondly, due to differences in the institutional framework among countries, the mechanisms of enforcement for OHSMS need to be designed in different ways. The article contributes to the literature by showing that the implementation and functioning of OHSMS are mediated by the different institutional logics in which firms are embedded.

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While the extant literature on offshore outsourcing deals with this operation mode in
isolation, and typically with a focus on cost effects, we address the broader question of
how companies choose and use outsourcing as part of foreign operation mode
development and as a contributor to internationalization. We use a case study of the
Danish company SimCorp and the development of its operations in Kiev, Ukraine, to
show how learning in various forms, control concerns, and relations with foreign partners
may interact and build momentum for mode change. SimCorp’s experience demonstrates
that outsourcing can be used proactively to promote expanded international operations.

This report is part of the research project “The competitive challenges and strategic development possibilities for The Blue Denmark”, which was launched in 2014. The project is funded by the Danish Maritime Fund and carried out by researchers at CBS Maritime which is a Business in Society Platform at Copenhagen Business School with a focus on value creation in the maritime industries.
The project embraces various maritime segments from shipping and offshore to ports and suppliers. The research questions for the individual projects have been formulated by researchers at CBS Maritime in cooperation with companies in the maritime sector.
This report “Offshore Supply Industry Dynamics – Business strategies in the offshore supply industry” is the second report in mapping project D. It examines the markets and business strategies of various suppliers and furthermore presents an analysis of the challenges and opportunities for the companies engaged in the different parts of the sector. The report is developed from interviews with top management of key players in the Danish supply industry combined with studies on management literature.
The macro- and meso levels of the offshore sector are examined in the CBS Maritime report “Offshore Supply Chain Dynamics – The main drivers in the energy sector and the value chain characteristics for offshore oil and gas and offshore wind”, which constitutes the first part of mapping project D. It offers insights into the main drivers in the energy sector (macro level) and the value chain characteristics for offshore oil and gas and offshore wind (meso level).

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The Main Drivers in the Energy Sector and the Value Chain Characteristics for Offshore Oil and Gas and Offshore Wind

Roslyng Olesen, Thomas(Frederiksberg, 2015)

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The value chains for offshore oil and gas and offshore wind are both basically driven by the demand for energy. This is heavily dependent on a number of factors including the price of various energy sources and the policy making of the states which influence legislation, indirect subsidies and direct investments. At the center of both value chains are the energy companies. The energy companies have a number of suppliers and sub suppliers which provide a range of equipment and services to the offshore operations. The supply industry is characterized by horizontal cooperation (between suppliers at the same level) and vertical cooperation (between suppliers in different layers). Finally the suppliers and the energy companies are supported by a number of companies which are usually not considered as part of the offshore sector but are important none the less. These companies provide a number of services including includes legal advice, financing, insurance etc.
The two value chains have a number of activities in common. Both include (1) a tender and concession phase where the energy company obtains the right to explore and produce energy from the authorities. (2) An exploration phase where the physical location is examined and the installation is planned. (3) An installation phase where the equipment is produced and transported to the site where it is installed. (4) An operation phase where the energy is produced or the energy source is extracted and (5) a decommissioning phase where the field is abandoned.
Most suppliers are positioned in several links of one or both value chains, at various levels (direct supplier, sub supplier, 3rd tier supplier etc.) and providing a variety of services. A supplier can move to new positions within the value chain. The increased servitization is a good example. Traditional manufacturers are often 2nd or 3rd tier suppliers in the installation phase. But by providing after sales services these companies also become direct suppliers to the energy company in the operations phase. Finally a supplier can have different positions in different geographical markets. A supplier can thus be a direct (1st tier) supplier in one market but needs to go through a local contractor (as a 2nd tier supplier) in another market – even if the provided service is exactly the same in both cases.

This PhD thesis addresses one of the most intensely debated phenomena over the past decade within
the realm of international business: Firms’ relocation of value chain activities to other parts in the
network of multinational corporation (MNC) or to external suppliers/services providers in foreign
countries (hereinafter referred to as offshoring), often to destination countries with lower cost
structures. Whereas the offshoring of manufacturing tasks has existed for several decades, and has
been analyzed in the international business literature, the offshoring of advanced services tasks from
developed country firms to destination countries such as India, which offer an attractive cocktail of
low costs and highly skilled labour, is a more recent phenomenon. The offshoring of this type of
services tasks forms the subject of this PhD thesis...

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(Re) Integrating the strategic management perspective in the theory of multinational corporations

Hoenen, Anne Kristin; Hansen, Michael W.(Frederiksberg, 2009)

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The contemporary literature on foreign direct investment (FDI) has to some extent ’forgotten’ a key insight of the early FDI literature, namely that FDI to a large extent is driven by strategic interaction of firms in oligopolistic industries. Instead the FDI literature has focused, at first on FDI as a way of generating efficiency in cross border transactions, and later on FDI as a way to effectively leverage and build capabilities across borders. These efficiency and capabilities perspectives on FDI may have been adequate in a situation where global competition still was in its infancy. However, in recent years, we have seen the emergence of truly global oligopolies, e.g. in electronics, aerospace, aviation, software, steel, automotive, construction, brewing, etc. These oligopolistic industries have been consolidated through massive waves of cross border M&As in the second half of the 90s and from 2003-2007. We argue that in such industries it is not adequate to analyze FDI only in terms of efficiency or resource leverage; FDI must also be understood in terms of its contribution to the global strategic positioning of the investing firm. The paper seeks to re-discover’ the oligopolistic competition perspective, drawing on the early insights of the Hymer-Kindleberger-Caves tradition as well as on the recent Strategic Management literature, but bringing these into the context of globalization. It is argued that global strategic interaction in oligopolistic industries is manifest in well known FDI phenomena such as follow-the-leader, client follower, and first-mover. While the paper attempts no formal testing, evidence indicative of oligopolistic competition motivated FDI is presented, e.g. from the recent cross border M&A waves and from the recent surge of FDI in emerging markets.